The 'Plus-1' format: How would it have affected the Sooners? The 'Plus-1' format: How would it have affected the Sooners?
Published: July 18, 2007
The proposed "Plus-1” BCS system could help solve the nearly annual debate over which team is actually the national champion of college football. Three times this decade, Oklahoma has been involved in the title debate. Using the proposed system, which would add a playoff game after the bowls, here is how the history of the Oklahoma Sooners may have been affected:
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•2000 BCS rankings: No. 1 Oklahoma; No. 2 Florida State; No. 3 Miami; No. 4 Washington
•What really happened: Oklahoma dominated Florida State 13-2 in the Orange Bowl to win an undisputed national title. Both the Hurricanes and Huskies easily won their bowl games.
•What could have happened: The Sooners would have faced No. 4 Washington in one semifinal. Assuming the Sooners would have beaten the Huskies, they would have played the winner of Florida State-Miami. In October 2000, the Hurricanes beat the Seminoles 27-24, and would have been favored to beat them again. A Miami-OU match-up would probably have been more competitive than the real national championship game.
•2003 BCS rankings: No. 1 Oklahoma; No. 2 Louisiana State; No. 3 Southern Cal; No. 4 Michigan
•What really happened: After losing 35-7 to Kansas State in the Big 12 championship, the Sooners lost their second game of the postseason, falling 21-14 to LSU in the Sugar Bowl. Southern Cal, who beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl, split the national title with the Tigers.
•What could have happened: A reeling Sooner team would have faced Michigan in one semifinal. Knowing how the season ended, it's safe to assume the winner of that game would have lost to the winner of LSU-USC.
•2004 BCS rankings: No. 1 Southern Cal; No. 2 Oklahoma; No. 3 Auburn; No. 4 Texas
•What really happened: The previously undefeated Sooners lost the national championship game 55-19 to USC. Auburn, which beat Virginia Tech 16-13 in the Sugar Bowl, also went undefeated but finished No. 2 in all major polls.
•What could have happened: Vince Young and Texas would have played USC in one semifinal, a year before their classic Rose Bowl. The 2004 Longhorns, though, weren't as good as the 2005 version. As for the Sooners, a match-up with Auburn would have been a lot closer than the OU-USC Orange Bowl.
By Brian Sandalow
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